The present invention relates to the art of processing individual articles and more particularly to a device for facilitating the setting of an apparatus to process such articles. More specifically, the invention relates to a gage element constituting a reference unit against which a certain article can be visually compared to determine if a condition of the dimensional match exists. The gage element features a computer readable storage medium holding data elements that can be used to alter the settings of the apparatus to adapt it specifically to the article that is to be processed. The invention also extends to a transfer device that includes the functionality of the gage element defined earlier and that also includes a gripping unit to pick up and to release the article. Finally, the invention also extends to a palletizer machine for arranging articles in the stack.
Industrial processes that require manipulation of individual articles are often carried out with automated equipment. A typical example is the process of stacking and palletization of cardboard boxes. Such cardboard boxes, that may contain many different kinds of discrete items, are delivered on a conveyor belt to a palletization machine that individually picks up the boxes and arranges them in a pre-determined stacking pattern. The boxes are usually stacked onto a pallet and when the stack is built, a lift or any other suitable carrying device carries the stack to another processing station for wrapping the stack and then for shipping it.
A typical palletization machine includes an actuator to which is mounted a transfer device in order to move the individual boxes from the end of the conveyor belt to the stack. The transfer device includes a gripping unit that picks up the box so it can be transported to the stack and when the box is moved to its proper position in the stack, the gripping unit releases the box. A controller that includes a central processing unit (CPU) controls the movement of the actuator.
Palletization machines available on the market today are designed to handle a wide variety of box dimensions, shapes and weights. In order to properly set the apparatus for a certain job, an operator must manually enter on a keypad certain characteristics that will allow the machine to properly stack the boxes, Those characteristics are typically the dimensions of the box, the number of boxes in a finished pallet, the weight of the box, the stacking pattern and the size of the pallet to be built. The necessity to manually enter this data in the memory of the palletizer machine is a potential source of error. If for some reason a parameter of the stacking operation is wrongly entered, the palletizer machine will operate incorrectly which may result in damage to the machine itself or to the contents of a box.
Therefore, there exists a need in the industry to facilitate the setting of an apparatus to process articles in order to reduce the possibility of incorrect data entry as a result of human error.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can facilitate the setting of an apparatus for processing individual articles.
As embodied and broadly described therein, the invention provides a gage element characterized by a certain dimensional feature, said gage element constituting a reference unit against which a certain article can be visually compared to determine if a condition of dimensional match exists between said gage element and the certain article, said gage element including:
a computer readable storage medium holding a plurality of data elements associated with the certain article;
an output permitting the data elements on said computer readable storage medium to be transmitted to an apparatus for processing the certain article, the data elements being operative to alter a setting of the apparatus to adapt the apparatus to process the certain article.
In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, the gage element is in the form of an interchangeable part that is mounted to the actuator of the palletization machine This is the sole operation necessary in order to set the machine for a particular box type to be handled. More specifically, the gage element forms a transfer device that is releasably attached to the end of the actuator of the palletization machine. The transfer device includes a gripping unit to selectively pick up and release a box. In a specific example, the gripping units can be a vacuum device, including one or more suction cups that can engage one of the walls of the box to retain it against the transfer device.
It should be appreciated that the gripping unit is not necessarily a vacuum operated device only as other possibilities can be envisaged without departing from the spirit of the inventions For instance, the gripping unit can be a mechanical system utilizing fingers designed to grip the box or the article that is to be manipulated. Other possibilities will also be clearly apparent to the person skilled in the art.
The transfer device includes a computer readable storage medium holding information relative to the article to be processed, such as the size of the box, the stacking pattern and the dimensions of the stack and the weight of the box, among others. When the transfer device is connected to the actuator, the information held in the computer readable storage medium is transferred to the controller of the palletization machine to alter its settings. The transfer is effected through a data communication port that becomes operational when the transfer device is mechanically coupled to the actuator. At the same time, a suitable vacuum connection is established between the suction cups and a vacuum source. In a specific example such vacuum connection can be realized through any suitable pneumatic coupling.
The first step of the method to set up the palletization machine for a particular job is to select the proper transfer device. The operator effects this by visually comparing a box of the type to be manipulated with a series of available transfer devices that would usually be provided with the palletization machine. The transfer device that dimensionally matches the box is coupled to the actuator arm which establishes a pneumatic connection with the vacuum source and at the same time, initiates or at least enables the data communicative relationship between the computer readable storage medium on the transfer device and the main controller of the machine.
In a specific example, the transfer device is in the form of a plate having two main surfaces. On one of the main surfaces of the plate are mounted the suction cups while the other main surface carries the pneumatic coupling and the data port. The size of the plate is selected to match in terms of dimensions the size of one of the walls of the box, such as the top wall. In this specific example, the expression xe2x80x9cdimensional matchxe2x80x9d means that the size of the plate is about the same as the size of the top wall, thus, the operator can visually determine, by placing the plate on the box if the transfer device matches the box to be handled. There is little possibility of error since one can easily determine if a given transfer plate dimensionally matches the box or not.
The dimensional match can be bi-dimensional or three-dimensional. In general, what is meant by xe2x80x9cdimensional matchxe2x80x9d is a condition where the gage element (or the transfer device when playing also the role of a gage element) matches one or more dimensions of the article to be processed such as the box. In the example above, a bi-dimensional match is used. A three dimensional match could be effected by providing the transfer device with a three dimensional configuration that is designed to mate with the box. Such three dimensional configuration could be attained by providing the plate of the transfer device with a side flap projecting downwardly from the plate and designed to serve as a box height reference. To verify the dimensional match the operator places the transfer device on top of the box and visually verifies that the size of the top plate is about the same as the top of the box and also that the height of the side flap extends down to the lower edge of the box.
Once the proper transfer device has been selected, it is coupled to the end of the actuator arm. The uploading of the information from the computer readable storage medium then completes the setting of the machine and the operation of the palletizer machine can begin.
The possibility of human error in properly setting the palletizer machine is significantly reduced since the operator is no longer required to enter data on a keypad or on any other similar information input device.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention also provides a transfer device for connection to an actuator unit of an apparatus for processing a certain article, the transfer device capable of retaining and displacing the certain article along a path of travel established by a movement of said transfer device imparted to said transfer device by the actuator unit, said transfer device including;
a body;
gripping unit mounted to said body, said gripping unit capable to selectively acquire an operative mode and an inoperative mode, in said operative mode said gripping unit holding the certain article to permit displacement the certain article along the path of travel, in said inoperative mode said gripping unit releasing the certain article;
a computer readable storage medium holding a plurality of data elements associated with the certain article;
an output permitting the data elements on said computer readable storage medium to be transmitted to the apparatus for processing the certain article, the data elements being operative to alter a setting of the apparatus to adapt the apparatus to process the certain article.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention also provides a palletizer machine for arranging articles in a stack, said palletizer machine comprising:
a control unit, including:
(i) a central processing unit;
(ii) a memory in a data communicative relationship with said central processing unit, said memory capable of holding data for processing by said central processing unit to generate control signals to regulate arrangement of the articles in a stack;
an actuator responsive to the control signals to successively pick individual articles and arrange the individual articles in the stack, said actuator including a transfer element mounted to said actuator, said transfer element having:
(i) a gripping unit capable to selectively acquire an operative mode and an inoperative mode, in said operative mode said gripping unit holding a certain article to permit displacement of the certain article along a path of travel of said actuator, in said inoperative mode said gripping unit releasing the certain article;
(ii) a computer readable storage medium for holding a plurality of data elements associated with the certain article;
(iii) an output in a data communicative relationship with said control unit to permit transfer of the data elements to said memory to allow said control unit to generate the control signals at least partly in dependence upon the data elements.